Finding Their Way
by sglatte
Summary: Ronon and Toni Beck OC are out of contact with Atlantis. Are they in peril? What went wrong? And how will Sheppard deal with his teammate and girlfriend being lost together? Sheppard OC
1. Chapter 1

FINDING THEIR WAY

Summary: Ronon and Toni Beck (OC) are out of contact with Atlantis. Are they in peril? What went wrong? And how will Sheppard deal with his teammate and girlfriend being lost together? Sheppard / OC

Disclaimer: SGA and beloved characters aren't mine. Toni is. They're just playing together for a bit.

Authors Note: Toni Beck was introduced in the story Blood Sea. This story takes place about a month after. Timeline with SGA is early in the third season. Comments and feedback are most welcome! Thanks for reading!

Finding Their Way: Chapter One

Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard circled, his full attention on his adversary. He stayed focused for any aggressive movement, ignoring the pain in his right side. Nearly faster than he could see, the weapon in the other man's hand lunged forward. John parried and stepped right. Several rapid blows echoed through the room as the two clashed.

Feeling an opening, the Colonel swung left and low. Only too late did he realize the mistake. His opponent swivel on the ball of his foot and brought down his free hand, using Sheppard's own momentum, he drove the Colonel to the ground.

"Ouch." A dry female voice came from the door.

Sheppard looked up from his place on the floor. He groaned, dropping his head back to the mat.

"Poor baby. Did that hurt? It looked like it hurt." She continued to taunt.

"Don't worry. He isn't injured," Ronon Dex smirked. "Not bad anyway."

John rolled over, pushing himself to a sitting position. He looked up at his Satedan friend, rolling his eyes. "You're gloating like kicking my ass is something new."

"No." The big man wiped a towel over his face before smiling. "It just never gets old." A female laugh drew his attention back to the door. "What are you doing down here?"

"It's here!" Dr. Toni Beck grinned ear to ear.

John turned to her, confused. Ronon, however, slapped his hands together with a resound "Yeah! Where?"

"Right here," she stepped outside the door and began to drag in a rather large package.

"What's in it?" The Sheppard stood up and joined the two of them around the box.

Toni ignored the question and instead opened her pocket knife to cut through the tape. She threw aside the foam sheet at the top, pulling out the first item. Removing the plastic revealed a high end, pre strung, compound bow.

"Sweet." Ronon took the bow from her and tested the pull weight. "It's all here?"

"Yep, two Parker compound bows, two quivers, extra carbon arrows, spare strings and tuning kit." The small marine biologist ticked off proudly.

"What the hell is going on?" John asked. _And why the hell don't I already know?_

"We're going hunting." Ronon began unpacking the rest of the items.

"What? When?" Sheppard didn't know where to focus his attention. Neither had mentioned anything about it. Ronon obviously anticipated this. Not only should he have known that they had plans, but he didn't even know Toni could hunt…something he felt he should know considering they had been dating for nearly a month.

"You know I have that trip to the main land to check on the lake near the Athosian settlement." Being the resident marine biologist, she'd been asked to investigate a white film developing on the surface of the water. Teyla's people were concerned it would taint the fish they relied upon.

"Yes," John chewed his bottom lip, frustrated. He pulled her a few feet from where Ronon examined each arrow he drew from the box. Speaking low, he leaned close. "I kinda thought you and I would get some time alone during that trip."

"You didn't say anything." Initially Toni didn't want to mention it until she knew it would even happen, but now she doubt that had been a good decision.

"I didn't think I had to."

"John, for all I knew you had work to do. Usually you would offer to fly me over." Toni felt a touch of annoyance creep up. "I just thought…"

"And since when do you know how to hunt?" He continued as if he didn't hear her comment.

"Since I was twelve. What the hell is the problem?"

Neither of them noticed Ronon stand and silently leave the room.

"How is that Ronon knows that and I don't?" He glared at her. Some small part of his brain registered that he was far angrier than he should be. Still, the little voice wasn't loud enough to keep the stupid comments from rolling out of his mouth.

"He asked." Toni could plainly see his anger, but she wasn't about to back down from it. "You're not exactly big on 'when I was growing up' stories, John. Don't get pissed off at me because Ronon asked a few questions you didn't. It's not like I'm withholding information from you."

"You didn't tell me about this trip." He growled out.

"True. Fine. I didn't. But not because I was keeping secrets. I didn't know if it was going to even happen until the package arrived just now. If there were no bows, then there wouldn't be a trip." Toni shook her head and for the first time realized they were alone in the room. Running Ronon out of the room while they argued pissed her off even more. "But now you know." She bit out.

John's jaw clenched. There were dozens of retorts banging around his mind, but the little part of his brain that knew that this was probably stupid kept his teeth together. So he stared, hard.

But she stared right back, unflinching. Toni watched the frustration, anger and doubt flicker through his eyes. Somehow she could read him. _Fortunately, because his communication skills suck at times_, she thought to herself. So, she played a hunch.

"Which bothers you more, the idea of me doing something with Ronon without you, or the fact that he knows something personal about me that you don't?"

John's mouth opened, but slammed shut. He chewed on his lip again. She saw it, that flicker of doubt was back. Toni pressed on, with far less venom in her voice. "Somehow I don't think, under other circumstances, it would bother you for Ronon to escort me on this trip. You trust him more than anyone. If I was going anywhere off Atlantis without you, I'd bet you would prefer him to be the one making sure I was safe."

"Yeah," was the only quiet admission he made.

"So it bothers you because you think that somehow he know me better now… somehow?" She guessed. Toni couldn't quite identify the look he gave her, but it wasn't angry. She touched her fingers lightly to his chest and looked up into his eyes. She felt all of her own annoyance drain away. For all of his confidence, he really was uncertain of his ability to be in a relationship. "That's not true, you know. It never could be."

John nodded. He took a deep, slow breath. His hands rubbed her shoulders before moving to her hair. "Sorry." John mumbled, dipping his head closer to hers.

Toni lifted on to her toes and kissed him lightly. "S'okay," she mumbled back. "You know, you could come with us."

"I don't know." John stepped away from her, looking at the pile of equipment on the floor. "So, you hunt? With a bow?"

"Yeah," Toni smiled, accepting the question as his way to make amends. "My dad and uncles went every year. I grew up around it. Elk. Deer. I even went bear hunting once, but I just hung out. I didn't have a tag. That side of the family hunted and fished all the time."

"Really?" His eyebrow rose. He knew she grew up with a predominately male family.

She gestured to herself. "Tomboy, remember? Did you think I learned to shoot on all my ocean dives?"

"Well, no." He admitted. "I guess I never really thought about it." It took a moment before his next question spilled out. "So, uh, how'd it come up with Ronon?"

Toni sat on the floor and began to pack everything up. "A couple days ago, when you were tied up all day giving those proficiency tests, we had lunch. I'm not sure what led to it, but he made some comment about being on land amongst the trees. I got to talking about Washington. That morphed into hunting stories. We talked about the game on the mainland and how good a thick steak would be. I got the idea and figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if we could get a couple bows. Every one could be, what, four or five hundred pounds of meat? I was honestly surprised when my order arrived." She reached up to take his hand. "I'm sorry this blindsided you. I didn't mean for that to happen."

He squeezed her fingers. "Sorry I reacted like an ass."

"It's okay." She used his grip to help herself up. "But, since I was counting on Ronon to help me carry all this to my quarters…Help me with this stuff?"

John realized with embarrassment that they were alone. "Dammit."

He would have to track Ronon down later.

[ - [ - [ -

Ronon opened the door to his quarters. Seeing Sheppard there wasn't much of a surprise. The Colonel carried two cased and held them out. "Hey."

"Hey." He took the cases.

"Toni asked me to bring these by." John scowled a bit. "And, um, sorry about that back there."

"Whatever. It's okay." Ronon backed into the room to put the cases down. Sheppard followed him in. "You know, you can come to."

"Yeah, she said the same thing. For some reason I don't think it would be a good idea."

Ronon laughed once. "Don't want to look like you're bullying your way in?"

"Something like that."

"I should've said something."

"No." John shook his head. "I overreacted." They stood in silence for a moment. "I, um, I've got to get up to the control room." He began to leave, but stopped at the door. He didn't turn around, but spoke toward the wall. "Make sure she stays safe."

"You have my word."

[ - [ - [ -

"John." Elizabeth interrupted him. She motioned over his shoulder with a slight smile. "You have company."

He turned around in his chair. Toni was saying hello to Rodney on her way to Weir's office. She wore black fatigues and standard issue boots. Her long hair was pulled back in a high pony tail. No make up on her face.

She caught him looking at her and a bright smile lit her face. "Hi. Can I borrow you for a second?"

"Go ahead." Elizabeth mumbled.

John stood, motioning for Toni to join him by the railing. "This is a different look for you."

Usually she stuck to her science uniform or her preferred blue jeans. "Well…this is better for the woods."

"No, that's not what I mean." He smiled sideways at her. "You look pretty damn hot."

Toni grinned wickedly. "We're leaving soon. Walk me to the jumper?"

"After you."

They walked up to the jumper with a pile of her equipment stacked near the rear hatch. John poked his head inside. Empty. "Where's Ronon?"

"Not here yet." Toni grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him in for a kiss. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around her, holding her close. A pleasurable groan rumbled in his chest. Her mouth pulled away only enough to speak. "I wanted the chance to say 'bye'."

"Lucky me." John captured her mouth again.

He half expected a fight after taking the hunting equipment to Ronon. She surprised him by completely letting the subject drop. Toni surprised him more often than he'd care to admit. She didn't prod him to talk about his feelings, or expect what he thought was normal 'dating' stuff. She was even content to sit in each other's company without talking.

"Should I come back later?" The amused voice startled them both and jumped apart. Ronon stood at the foot of the jumper.

"Naw." John ran a hand over his mouth. "Just, ah…"

"Yeah, I got that." His friend chuckled. His attention turned to Toni. "You bringing all this stuff?"

"I have work I have to before we go play, you know." She walked over to grab one of the cases and backhanded the big man on the chest. "It should only take a couple hours. Don't get your panties in a twist."

"My what?" He looked over at Sheppard.

"You get to explain that one, babe." He playfully whacked her ass as she passed. "I'm not going there."

She laughed. The Satedan continued to look confused. Toni saw an opportunity and just had to take it. "Don't worry, Ronon. Once we take off, I'll show you my…"

"You will not!" John practically shouted, spinning around. She giggled. She did it again. "You're awful, you know that?"

"Got to keep you on your toes." Toni ran her fingers across his stomach on her back out of the jumper.

"Yeah, well." John "You do."

"Okay, that's everything." Ronon finished stowing the equipment.

"Well, you two have fun. Don't stay out too late. Drive safe. All that stuff." John scowled.

"I'll see you tomorrow night." Toni stood on tip toes and kissed him briefly before moving to the pilot's chair.

He shifted his attention to Ronon, allowing some of the concern to show on his face. "You guys be careful."

"No worries." Ronon gripped Sheppard's shoulder. The Colonel nodded, turned and left.

[ - [ - [ -


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: The first chapter and this one are focused on friendships, but the adventure starts next chapter…promise! Hope you enjoy…

Finding Their Way: Chapter Two

[ - [ - [ -

"Colonel Sheppard?" Teyla's voice came across his com.

"Yeah."

"Rodney and I were on our way to the mess hall for dinner and wondered if you would care to join us."

He had been on his way to his quarters, to do what, he wasn't sure. Having dinner with friends would probably be better than going back to his room to sulk. "Okay. I'll see you there."

McKay and Telya were already seated and eating by the time he arrived. Rodney was going on about some system in which he miraculously increased the efficiency. She looked up at the Colonel's approached. "John, I am pleased you were able to join us."

"Yeah. Thanks for the call." He sat down beside her. John pushed the potatoes on his plate around for a moment.

"Where's Ronon?" McKay asked through a half mouth of food. "Is he in the gym beating someone up?"

"He, um," John chewed his lip for a second. "He went with Toni to the mainland to do a little, uh, hunting."

"He what?" McKay put down his fork.

"They went hunting. They'll be back tomorrow." He tried to sound nonchalant, but even in his own ears it sounded forced.

"Alone. The two of them went camping, alone."

"McKay." Sheppard growled out through clenched teeth.

"I do not understand." Teyla set down her drink. Rodney's shock was evident. "Is that a problem?"

"No." John said at the same time Rodney nodded, "yeah."

"Why would the two of them going hunting be a problem? It is often wise to hunt in teams."

"But she's his girlfriend."

John's face scrunched up at Rodney's comment. He never liked that word. It sounded juvenile, especially with his relationship with Toni. "It's not a big deal."

"I still do no understand."

"You just don't go off, doing things with…spending the night with…a buddy's girlfriend. It's…it's…it's just wrong." McKay sputtered.

Teyla began to understand. "Is it a matter of trust? Because I do not believe Ronon nor Toni would ever…"

"Of course they wouldn't." John stated with confidence. "Like I said, it's no big deal."

A long silence followed. They ate, but McKay and Sheppard kept exchanging odd looks. Teyla finished her meal before attempting to begin the conversation again. "I was unaware Toni was a hunter."

"Um, me too…until yesterday." John pushed his plate away. "Her family was full of outdoorsmen; her dad, her uncles. She went hunting and fishing with them every year."

"What a wonderful family pastime." McKay rolled his eyes. "Killing Bambi."

"Anyway," he glared at the other man. "She was able to get some gear right before this trip, so they went."

"What's the matter? A P-90 wasn't good enough to kill a deer."

"They're bow hunting, actually."

"Have you seen the size of those things on the mainland?" Rodney practically squeaked. "They're like the size of a horse."

"Yeah, well, they're compound bows."

"What is a compound bow?" Teyla inquired. John began to explain the difference between the compounds Toni ordered and the long bows the Athosians used. He was thankful for the chance to talk about something tangible rather than how he felt about Toni's trip.

[ - [ - [ -

"So, what is it?" Ronon joined the marine biologist at the work station she'd set up by the lake's edge.

"Just an algae. Nothing too bad." Toni looked up from her microscope. "It could make you pretty sick if you scooped it up and drank it down in concentrated amounts. It's only on the surface, so the fish should be fine, too. I'm going to recommend the wash the fish before cutting them open and be sure to cook them thoroughly, just to be safe. They should boil any water ingested from the lake as well."

"They get their drinking water from the river."

"Good." She nodded. "This should only last until the next good rain. So, let me report on my findings and I'll be done."

"You want some help packing all this stuff up?" Ronon offered.

"Little anxious to get started?" She grinned.

The big man smiled back. "A bit." He looked around. "If we head out soon, we could get far enough away from the settlement to set camp and maybe catch some game feeding at dusk."

"Sounds good." Toni began to move towards the village. "Be careful with that stuff though."

"I know."

"I'll be back in a few minutes." She jogged off, eager to get started herself.

Within an hour, Ronon and Toni were hiking through the woods north of the village. For a while they followed a set path used by the Athosians. The woods were dense with undergrowth. It reminded Toni of the Olympic State Park in Washington. Lush ferns and moss gave the air a rich earth smell. As they moved further into the thick, she could feel the temperature drop and she became more in tune with the sounds around her.

"You're quiet. Is something wrong?" Ronon's voice seemed loud.

"No. Nothing's wrong." Toni looked up, smiling. "Just enjoying the walk. This place reminds me of home a lot."

"A lot of planets look like this."

"Did they all start to run together? Going from planet to planet all the time?" She asked.

Ronon appreciated that she didn't dance around questions from when he was a runner. She was direct and never looked at him with any kind of pity. "Eventually. Certain ones stick out, though."

"Because of what happened on them?"

"Yeah. Sometimes there were places that had good resources, good places to re-supply, and were worth remembering."

Toni looked sideways at him. "Have any girls on the planets worth remembering?"

"Not really." He half smiled. "Besides, it was too dangerous to let anyone spend much time with me."

"Jesus, Ronon. How much time does it take for you?" She chuckled.

He laughed. "Not what I meant."

The walked in silence a while longer before she spoke again, "Listen, I'm sorry for putting you in a weird situation with John."

"Don't be." Ronon chewed over his own response for a second. "Everything seems to have worked out between you and Sheppard. Right?"

"Yeah," Toni stepped over a fallen log. "We're just still…finding our way. Plus, John's has trouble vocalizing how he feels sometimes. Most of the time, though, I'm not sure he's even clear on what he's feeling, much less being able to explain it."

"It's good of you to see that. After being alone for a long time, it can take some getting used to."

"Especially when you feel like you've failed before." Toni agreed quietly.

"Before?"

"We've both been married before, and it didn't end well for either of us."

Ronon thought back. "He never mentioned it."

"Not surprising." Toni frowned. "He hasn't shared much with me, but whoever she was, and whatever happened, it did a hell of number on him."

"Still," Ronon tried to lighten the mood a bit. "You manage to keep him on his toes." She chuckled so he continued. "You owe me an explanation…panties in a twist?"

[ - [ - [ -

Sheppard open the door to his quarters later that night to find Teyla standing there with a casual smile on her face. It immediately put him on the defensive. "Hi…"

"I was just wondering if you might join me for a cup of tea."

"Tea? Now?"

"Yes, or we could have something else if you prefer." She had that confident 'you're not getting out of this' look on her face.

"How about a beer?" He stepped back from his doorway. "Come on in."

"Thank you." Teyla entered his quarters and took a seat. She seemed infinitely patient as he reached into his mini-fridge and opened a couple brown bottles.

John handed her a beer and took a seat on the edge of his bed. The silence was awkward since he just knew she'd come by to lecture him about something. Whenever she showed up at his door, all calm and wanting to have tea, it meant she was going to hit him with something personal.

"May I ask you something?" Teyla finally began.

"Go ahead." He took a long swig of beer. _It's not like saying no would stop you_.

"Is everything well in your relationship with Toni?"

"Sure. Fine."

"John, I know that you have…difficulties…expressing certain feelings and I'm sure this situation is not easy for you."

"What exactly do you mean by 'this situation'?" The hackles on John's neck stood up.

"Rodney gave me further explanation of his statements at dinner."

"Great." John bit his lip to keep from swearing. "Listen. I appreciate your concern, but honestly I'm fine with it."

"So it does not bother you that you were excluded from a vacation with the person you are have a relationship with?"

"Geez, when you put it that way…" Dammit he hated these kinds of conversations. "I'd rather be there. Is that what you want to hear? Yeah, it kinda bothers me that somehow Ronon and her have something in common that doesn't include me."

"But you are fine?"

"Teyla, I.." He ran his hands through his hair, trying to put his thoughts in order. "I trust Toni. I trust Ronon. I can deal with this little trip. But more importantly, I don't want to fuck this up."

"You said things are going well with your new relationship." Teyla set her beer aside. She was silently pleased he was been as open as he was.

"They are. Better than they should be." John saw the look of utter confusion on his friend's face. "Usually, by now, I've done something or said something to screw it up… especially if we're in the same time zone. Toni's different. I just…I know I'm fumbling my way through this, and part of me is waiting for the moment when I blow it."

"She is quite happy being with you, John." Teyla did not understand where his uncertainty came from, but she felt for him. She could plainly see his worry.

"You know that, huh?" John finished off his beer and got up for another.

"She said as much."

"Really?"

"Yes," Telya smiled. "Has she not told you so herself?"

"Well, sure. But that's the stuff you're supposed to say when you're dating." He took several more heavy drinks.

"John, Toni is very direct…very honest. Do you honestly believe that she would say anything that she did not truly mean?"

She watched his brows furrow in thought. Satisfied that she may have brought to mind questions that would help, she stood. "Thank you for the drink. I shall see you tomorrow." She left.

John barely acknowledged her departure as conversations from the last few weeks played through his mind. He finished off his beer and stretched out on his bed. Toni wasn't all sappy, but she did say she was happy. She said 'thank you' for things when he didn't expect it. Plus, she laughed a lot. He loved making her laugh. Maybe he wasn't messing up nearly as badly as he thought he was. Toni's laugh filled he mind as he allowed sleep to overtake him.

[ - [ - [ -

"Okay, I'm done." Toni stood from her small tent. "Which way should we head out first?"

"That way. I've already looked around and there's an animal trail heading up that side of the ridge." Ronon checked his bow once more. Of course, he was still armed with his favorite gun and several knives.

They headed into the thick woods, following the small animal trail. They walked slowly, looking around for any signs of game. It was impossible to make no noise, but he was impressed with the stealth in which she moved.

After an hour the sun began to drop below the horizon. They were high on the ridge, and Toni could see a meadow down the other side of the mountain. There was a tight line of trees that could hide a stream as well. That's probably where is trail was leading.

Ronon stopped. She froze. Toni tried to look around without moving her head. She couldn't see anything, but he must have spotted something. His bow came up painfully slow. It would stop for a moment, frozen like a statue. Then he would move again. As he moved, Toni took the opportunity to raise her head a bit. Now she saw it.

To their left a large animal stood eating the tender grass under a tree. It looked like an elk cow, but it had a waddle below its chin of black flesh. The hair was slightly longer around the flanks and the tail. Still, it was very similar to an elk.

It chewed, blissfully ignorant, but still wary. Each time it lowered its head to take a new mouthful, Ronon moved. Before long, the big man stood with bow drawn. Toni's legs began to ache from holding still in mid step. She kept her eyes diverted from the animal's head. She did not want to startle it before Ronon could get off a shot.

The arrow flew, striking the elk. It jumped, staggered and then ran off. Ronon took chase. Toni tried to keep up, but Ronon was much too fast. Thankfully she didn't have to sprint far before she came upon Ronon and the fallen animal.

"Nice." She panted, catching her breath.

"Yeah." He had a big feral smile on his face. "We'd better hurry or we'll have to haul it back the whole way in full dark."

After gutting the elk, it took them three times as long to get back to camp. Toni went to work lighting a fire and heating up water to fix something to eat…and to clean up. Ronon hung the carcass, protecting it from scavengers.

When he was finished, Toni tossed him a warm wet towel to clean the blood from his hands and forearms. "You want some stew? It's mine, not a MRE."

"Sure." He joined her by the fire. "I've got to admit, I wasn't sure if you could really hunt or not."

"I haven't killed anything yet."

"You didn't scare off the game either." Ronon took out his knife, cleaning under his nails. "I was surprised."

"Ah, you say the sweetest things." Toni teased. Something more serious occurred to her. "So what are the predators and scavengers like here? Should we sleep in shifts?"

He looked up at the carcass. It would be tempting. "That's probably a good idea. There's only another six or seven hours of dark. I'm wide awake, so why don't I take the first shift."

Toni nodded. "Okay. Wake me in a while, but give yourself enough sleep time. Tomorrow we're up before dawn. I want my elk too."

He smiled. "Sure."

She crawled into her tent, into her sleeping bag. She could hear the fire and all noises of the forest around her. Still, her thoughts drifted to John. As much as she was enjoying herself, now lying here alone, she wished he had come along. _G'night John_, she thought as she drifted off.

[ - [ - [ -

Next chapter soon…please R&R…thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hope everyone is enjoy thing so far…Toni gets a little foul mouthed…so be warned.

Finding Their Way: Chapter Three

[ - [ - [ -

By the time the coming daylight began to penetrate the darkness, Ronon and Toni were past the place where he had downed the elk the previous day. This time she took the lead. The morning was perfect, cold, moist, and misty.

Toni paused, kneeling to the ground. Fresh tracks, several. They were in the area. She moved forward, readying an arrow. Ronon stayed silent as he shadowed her movements.

In the growing light she saw movement, with antlers. _Yes._ She crept closer, being very careful to not startle it. Toni positioned herself and waited. There was too much foliage in the way. If he would just move a little, just a bit, she could get a kill shot.

She felt a slight tap on her right calf. Looking down without moving her head, she saw Ronon's arrow motion to her right. Just down from them were two cows…and a much clearer shot. Watching to be sure the bull was busy eating, she changed targets.

As soon as she swung around she let loose her arrow. The animal jumped, reared a bit and fell. The others scattered. Ronon and Toni dashed for the spot. It looked like the elk went down in a thicket of ferns. Just as Toni leapt over a rotting log, she felt the earth shift under her feet. She threw herself backwards, but still crashed down. Spreading out, she tried to slide rather than roll.

"Toni!" Ronon stopped just short of following her down the ravine. He could see where she'd fallen through ferns and decaying limbs. It looked about thirty feet. "Toni!"

"Yeah!" Came her response. "Son of bitch that hurt!"

"You okay?! I can't see you!"

"Other than some huge bruises on my ass, I'm just fucking dandy!"

He chuckled. She couldn't be that bad.

"Hey!" Toni called up. "I found the elk!" She limped further away from the edge of the ravine to where she could see him. She waved.

Ronon waved back, trying not to look worried. She was covered in dirt head to toe, but he could still see a line of blood down the side of her face. "Toni," he tapped his temple. "You're bleeding."

She rubbed her hand on her pants, for all the good it did, and touched her face. "Um," She felt it gingerly. "It's just a scratch. No bump. Not too deep. Stings when I touch it, though."

"Then don't touch it."

"You're so helpful. What would I do without you?" Toni threw her hands up. "How about you find a way for me to get out of here?" She looked to the side. "Preferably with the elk!"

"How about I find a way to get elk out and you find a way to get yourself out of there?" He joked, but moved along the ravine edge looking for a stable way down.

"Not helping…" She drawled.

The edge of the ravine was soft and unstable for nearly a quarter mile. Ronon knew he could throw Toni a rope and pull her up, but she wanted to look for a way to bring the trophy home.

"You know, it is going to be a pain in the ass to haul it out of here." Ronon called down.

"Big guy like you? It'll be a cake walk." She smiled up as sugary-sweet as she could. Of course, doing it through a quarter inch of dirt didn't have quite the same affect. "Hey! Up here!"

Toni ran ahead. She's found a rocky slope. Scrambling up, she barely dislodged a stone. Reaching the top, she through her arms out. "Ta-Da!"

Ronon tried to scowl at her, but when she bowed deeply, proclaiming "thank you, thank you" he couldn't keep a straight face. "Okay, stop. We'll go down a check it out."

They traveled back up to where the elk lay. As they walked along, Ronon pulled a small packet from the pouch at his waist. "Here." He handed it to her. "You're bleeding again."

"Thanks." She tore open the gauze, holding it to her head. It took a moment, but it stopped again.

"Sheppard's going to shoot me." He mumbled.

"What?"

"You got hurt. He's going to shoot me."

"Oh, please. I fell." Toni looked sideways at him.

"But I promised."

She stopped. "What?"

"I promised him you wouldn't get hurt." Ronon took her arm and got her walking again.

"Did he ask that of you?"

"Didn't have to."

"Knock off the macho bullshit. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I'm a big girl capable of taking care of myself…of being responsible for myself." Then she grinned. "But definitely not too proud to want you help getting this thing out of here."

The elk lay just ahead of them. Time to get to work.

[ - [ - [ -

"Holy crap." Toni grunted and pushed up with her legs. She pushed up on ass end of the elk. They had a rope tied around it slung over a branch and Ronon pulled from up top. It was slow. Pull, move a few inched, stop, and pull again. Even after quartering the carcass it felt like it weighed a ton.

"You okay?" His voice was tight, holding a great deal of weight.

"Yeah. Keep going."

They worked on raising the carcass out of the ravine for the better part of the morning. When they got it to the top, Ronon suggested taking a break. She threw herself on the ground without argument. Toni's backside ached, her knees hurt, her head started to pound and now she was covered with dirt and blood from the elk.

"I seriously stink." Toni made a face as she sniffed the fabric covering her shoulder.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but…" He teased. Ronon ducked from the stick she tossed at him. She looked tired, and he had the feeling she was in more pain than she showed. "Why don't you take it ease for a minute and I'll tie these up into packs."

"I'll help."

"No. Just sit"

"Fine," she conceded. With a groan she laid back. The longer she rested the more she felt the pain creeping into her body. Toni tried to think of anything to keep her mind off it.

"Clouds are getting thicker."

"Yeah, it'll be raining before long." Ronon agreed without looking up. "Temperature is going to drop too."

"At least it will keep the meat." She started doing some figuring in her head. "We have at least two trips to camp with all this meat…if we pack heavy. There's another two with one you killed last night. There's no way in hell we're going to get all of this back to the jumper before nightfall."

"Yeah, I was thinking that too." Ronon tied up the last of the meat. "You should probably radio Atlantis. Sheppard will want to know."

"Love to, but…" Toni held up the small piece of plastic that was formerly her com, broken neatly at the tip. "I figured out what cut my face."

He nodded, thinking. "Okay. Let's get these back to the camp, then I'll run out to the jumper and radio back."

She stood, swallowing a groan. "We'll see. Come on. Load me up and we'll get moving." Toni wished she would have brought some painkillers…or at least an ibuprofen with her.

By the time they reached the camp with the first load of meat, Ronon could clearly see the pain on her face. She moved stiffly, favoring her right leg. It took several hours to make it back to the camp and he didn't think she could make another trip the way she walked.

He helped her out the pack. "Why don't you stay here, build a fire, and I'll go get the rest of the meat…or we can leave it."

"No, I'm okay." Toni shook her head stubbornly.

"Drop you pants."

"Excuse me?"

"Let me see how bad it is. Drop them."

Toni stared defiantly up into his serious eyes. She was not going to go whining about a few scrapes and bruises…especially in front of the Satedan. "I'm fine."

"Stop being so damn stubborn. You're hurt. You took a hell of a fall." Ronon growled out. "Do it…or we leave all of this behind and haul you butt back to the jumper over my shoulder if I have to."

"Fine." Toni began to unbuckle her belt. In all honest, she didn't want to know how bad it was just yet. She could buck her way through it as long as she convinced herself it wasn't too bad. She gingerly lowered the fatigues past her hips.

Ronon didn't say anything, but his frown deepened. He crouched beside her, carefully lowering the pants nearly to her knees. The flesh from her right hip midway down to her knee was bruised purple and red rashed. It was a deep ugly bruise. He knew it had to hurt like hell.

'_And she carried all that weight on the walk back._' He closed his eyes, torn between yelling at her for being so stupid and praising her toughness. "Why didn't you say it was this bad?" He finally grumbled.

She twisted around, trying to see her own purple ass. "I didn't think it was that bad." Toni tried to say innocently. "Ronon, please." She pulled her pants back up, hiding the discomfort. "I can deal with it. The more we get done before I stiffen up the better."

He stood tall, crossing his arms.

"Come on. We have just enough time to get the last load and make it back by dark."

"No, we leave it."

"But…"

"We'll take home what we've got." He looked up. It was about to rain. In failing light, muddy or slick ground would make her traveling more difficult. "You build a fire. Stay here. I'll take a pack to the jumper and let Atlantis know we'll be late. Tomorrow, we'll head back with as much meat as we can carry. No more."

"Ronon…"

"It's this or I tell Sheppard how stupid you're being about this whole thing."

"I am not being stupid about this. I'm being stubborn, there's a difference." He attempt at humor failed. "Listen, I'm not really good at admitting defeat or not holding up my end." He only stared. "Besides, do you have any idea how overprotective John will be after this? It will drive me nuts, Ronon."

"Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea." He let out a long sigh. "I know that has to hurt. Just rest a while. There's no defeat. Besides, I'm twice as big as you are, so I should be carrying twice as much anyway."

Finally getting her to agree, he packed up as much meat as he could carry and headed out towards the jumper. Toni gathered up as much wood as she could and stowed it where it would be close but sheltered from the rain. She decided to move her tent closer to the fire when the rain began to trickle through the trees.

Toni attempted to get comfortable on her side. She had firewood within reach, food to munch on and her Glock 9mm in front of her. Listening to the rain and watching the fire, she felt the pressure in her head and the pain from her body pushed tears from her eyes. Alone, she cried silently.

[ - [ - [ -


	4. Chapter 4

Finding Their Way – Chapter Four

[ - [ - [ -

"John?" Elizabeth put down her datapad, noticing the look of concern on his face. "John?" She called again before he turned to her. "What's wrong?"

"They're late." He said it as if those two words explained everything.

"Who? Ronon and Toni?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, sir." The young Canadian behind the consol shook his head. "We haven't heard anything from them and I'm not getting a response."

"Damn."

"When were they due back?" Weir asked.

"Over an hour ago." John's brow furrowed.

"An hour?" She tried not to scoff too much. "They went to the mainland, John. They probably just got hung up."

"Listen, I know I'm always running late, but…"

"John," She held up a hand to stop him. "It was my understanding they were going out into the woods. Perhaps it's just taking them longer to get back to the jumper than they anticipated. I don't really think there's a reason to worry yet. Still, I'll have them continue to hail them and we'll let you know as soon as we hear something."

"But…" He stopped himself. Elizabeth was probably right. "Alright. Yeah. I'm just going to, ah, go then."

He found himself wondering the halls outside the gym. They went hunting, he tried to reason with himself. They're fine. Maybe they got lucky and it's just taking longer than expected to get back to the jumper. Or, maybe the didn't find anything and wondered too far away from the jumper. Or, maybe they were attacked and…

Stop it. He ordered his ramble thoughts to shut up.

"Colonel."

He turned to see Teyla walking toward him. "Hey."

"Are you looking for someone? I don't usually see you down here without your gym bag."

"No. Just walking."

"Have Ronon and Toni not returned?" She fell into step beside him.

"They're late." John shoved his hands in his pockets. He fought down the urge to gear up and go flying off after them.

"When were they due back?"

"Only an hour or two ago." His words were nonchalant, despite the tension pinching around his eyes.

"And there's been no communication?"

"Not yet." His frown deepened.

"Perhaps they have been tracking and turn off their radios to avoid starling any game."

"Yeah."

"You do not believe that is the case?" She could plainly see the worry on his face.

"I just have a bad feeling."

Teyla usually held great faith in such feelings, but she knew how clouded John's feelings were in concerned to Toni. "Are you certain that you think something is truly wrong? Could it not be your concern over their trip which has created this 'bad feeling'?"

Sheppard's lips tightened into a scowl. He'd been fighting with those questions for the past several hours. He prattled off his reasoning rapidly. "They should have radioed home, even if they were just going to be late. I know I'm awful about loosing track of time, and so is Ronon, but Toni isn't. I know I'm being a little weird about all of this, but that's even more reason for me to think they would stick to their schedule if they could. She knows I'm being weird about this."

"So you believe Toni would take extra care to assure they returned on schedule because she understands you to be uncomfortable about their trip?" Teyla hoped she understood what he was trying to say.

"Yeah. Exactly." His eyebrow rose. "I'm glad you got that."

"If you are correct, perhaps we should go look for them."

"You don't think I'm just being paranoid?" John looked down at the floor again. That was another question he'd been wrestling with since they left.

Teyla placed her hands on his arms, drawing his eyes to hers. "You value the happiness you have found in recent weeks. I am certain that she is most capable of taking care of herself, especially with Ronon's company. Still, it is natural for you to feel…protective."

John nodded his head, not trusting his voice. Teyla looked so sincere and she was exactly right. Spending time with Toni, getting closer to her, came naturally. It felt right. He wanted more.

In the command center, they split up to gather the information they needed. Teyla went for the trip information Toni submitted on her request to use the jumper. John checked in with the coms center.

"Still no response, sir."

"Okay." Sheppard walked into Elizabeth's office. "Teyla and I are going to the mainland."

"You think something went wrong?" Elizabeth put down her pen.

"They are now several hours late and have not checked in. Night has fallen and a heavy rain has moved in. According to reports the temperature is dropping where they planned to be." Teyla reported.

"It'll be frozen over by morning." John practically growled his jaw was so tight.

"Go ahead." Elizabeth agreed. "John," she called before he made it out of the room. "They have equipment and experience. They'll be fine until you find them."

Barely nodding, John turned and jogged up the stairs to catch up with Teyla.

[ - [ - [ -

Rain poured down, soaking Ronon to the bone. The weight of the packs and restriction of his wet clothes slowed his progress. By the time he reached the jumper the forest was shroud in blackness, even the stars were hidden by the thick clouds.

"About time," Ronon muttered to himself. His fingers felt numb, so did his toes. His heavy breath was visible. Looking up into the night sky, he knew the rain was turning to snow. He dropped the packs and began to dig out his remote for the jumper. He needed to get back to the camp.

Something intangible caught his attention. Ronon stood slowly, pulling his gun free. He barely breathed, straining to hear. The darkness was so thick he could only see the few feet around him illuminated by his small light. There was something out there.

A low, barely audible, rumble came from his left. There. He looked for any shadow of movement. Behind him, another rumble. From the left came a growl. Ronon backed toward the jumper, wanting to put a solid surface at his back. A howl broke the silence…followed by another and another, filling the darkness.

Ronon fired two shots into the woods around him, hoping to scare off the pack of scavengers. A blur of movement caused him to spin to his left, barely bring his arm up in time to fire at the large canine. The animal's momentum knocked him against the jumper. Another hit him low, knocking him to the ground. He yelled out as the beast bit down on his leg. Ronon fired at it, bringing his weapon around just in time to shoot a third.

He lay there, panting and listening hard for any more. The rustles in the underbrush moved away from him. It sounded like a large pack, a dozen maybe. Eventually, Ronon lowered his weapon. They were scared off.

The pain in his right leg demanded his attention. He got up with some difficulty and dug out the control for the jumper. He needed to hurry. If they smelled the pack he carried, then they would track the scent back to the source...back to the camp.

Pulling everything into the jumper, he raised the rear door. The med pack held enough supplies to patch up the cuts in his calf. At least the bone wasn't broken. He threw the remainder of the medical supplies into a shoulder bag, just in case.

"Jumper 5, come in. Ronon, Dr. Beck, please respond." The radio came to life.

He grabbed a spare portable. "This is Ronon."

"Good hear from you." The voice said. "Let me patch you through to Colonel Sheppard."

Ronon grabbed the supply pack and a more powerful portable light. Keeping out his gun and the radio, he left the jumper. This was not a conversation he was looking forward to having.

"Ronon. Where the hell have you been?" Sheppard's voice barked.

"I just got back to the jumper to get the spare radio." He moved back toward the camp as quickly as he could through the darkness.

"And…" The Colonel prompted.

"And what?" Ronon ground his teeth against the pain in his leg.

"Where's Toni?"

"Back at camp." He debated how much to say. "Her com broke and I hiked to the jumper to get the radio. Had to say we wouldn't be able to make it back until tomorrow."

"Stay there. We're on our way. That way we'll head back to the camp with you." John still felt something was wrong.

"Can't." Ronon growled.

"Why?" He knew it. Damn it. He knew something was wrong.

"There's a pretty nasty pack of scavengers that just came after me for the meat. I think they're following the scent to the camp."

"Where you left Toni alone." John went from worried to pissed.

"She wouldn't have made the hike in the dark. We had to get a radio." Ronon knew he would be angry.

"What...She wouldn't...Why.." John sputtered. "Ronon, why wouldn't she have made it?"

The big man took a deep breath, feeling about ten inches tall. "She's hurt. She fell."

A long silence followed. Ronon hurried his pace, despite the pain. This was bad.

"Ronon, this is Teyla. How badly is she injured?"

"Not too bad." Ronon wondered about Sheppard's reaction, giving that Teyla took over the radio communication. "She's bruised and scraped up pretty good. I don't think anything's broken."

"What happened?" Sheppard growled out.

"She shot an elk. It looked like it darted off. When she chased after it, the ground gave way and she fell into a ravine."

"So you got her out of the ravine then left her at the camp? Hurt and alone?"

In the dark, trudging through the rain and undergrowth, Ronon rolled his eyes. Like he would ever do something like that. "Listen," he laid it all out. "After she fell, I didn't even know how bad it was until after we hauled the elk out of the ravine and carried half of it back to the camp…about five miles. Sheppard, she never complained, or said anything. She muscled through it."

"What?" The Colonel's voice mellowed out a bit. "Why?"

"Didn't want to wuss out."

"What?!"

"That's exactly what she said. As soon as I realized how bad it was, I convinced her to stay down. But right now I need to get back."

Again a long silence followed. "Because there's a pack of rabid scavengers headed towards the camp to get the rest of the meat…where my girlfriend is laid up injured… alone."

Ronon winced. "Yeah, but hey, at least she's got a gun."

"Comforting." Sheppard spat. "We'll find the jumper and follow you. Hurry."

"I am."

[ - [ - [ -

Toni breathed through her mouth, trying not to start crying again. She moved her leg in slow circles, trying to keep the muscle from locking up. It hurt like hell, but she was determined to walk out of here on her own in the morning. Unfortunately, over the last few hours it continued to feel worse.

She knew how stupid it was to rush forward like she had…stupid and foolish.

Since Ronon left, the temperature dropped significantly. The snow wasn't sticking, but it was definitely snow. _At least the cold is keeping me awake_, she thought. From the work throughout the day, and the aching pain, she was exhausted.

The pile of fire wood dwindled to nothing. Toni groaned as she stood. Her hip didn't want to move. "Oh, crap." Breathing deeply, she limped to the edge of camp to get some more of the wood Ronon left behind.

She wasn't sure which was worse, bending at the knee or at the hip to pick up the wood. Both hurt and her balance sucked either way. It took a moment but she finally stood with an armful.

That when she heard it. A low growl. She stopped, listening intently. It was difficult, because of the crackle of the fire. More rumbles from the darkness. Toni looked around her, unable to see anything beyond the ring of light around the fire. She stood right at the edge.

There, near the fire, lay her gun.

She swore to herself. Dropping the pieces of wood, she bent with effort, to pick up another piece that could be used as a club. Toni moved as smoothly as she could back to her gun.

A large gray animal came into view at the edge of the fire light. It looks canine, like wider version of a Scottish deerhound. As the one stepped into the light, two others bravely moved closer. Their hackles rose over their shoulders. Their teeth bared.

"Now, now," She muttered in a quiet calm voice. "You guys don't need to get all pushy. Just calm down and let me get to the gun then we'll talk about this."

Toni heard crashing brush behind her. Instinctively she dove toward the gun, twisting and swinging out with the club at the same time. She hit the ground hard. She screamed as shooting pain through her battered body. The club struck the animal solidly, changing its momentum and knocking it into the campfire. Embers shot into the air.

Another rushed forward and Toni tried to swing at it, only managing to put the club between her face and the scavenger. She hit and kicked, barely feeling the beast's claws cut her, until her foot got under it. She kicked away as hard as she could. Her hand slapped around her, feeling for the gun.

As the animal lunged forward again, her fingers wrapped around the hilt. Just in time she brought it around and shot several times. The beast howled and fell back. Toni sat up, firing rapidly. It took three shots to bring down another one.

Adrenaline pounded through her veins, blessedly pushing the pain away. Toni scurried, nearly on hands and knees, to the largest of the trees and threw her back against it. Another scavenger pushed forward again. She didn't hesitate and shot it down. Unfortunately, there were more.

She began doing the math in her head. There wasn't much ammo left and the spare clip was in her pack. She lowered her voice and commanded. "Go on, get!"

More moved into the fading firelight. To her left, one pounced. As she dropped to the ground she fired twice before the gun clicked empty. Toni crawled back up against the tree, blood pounding in her ears, desperately trying to think of what to do.

A howl broke the silence. She tensed. It moved closer. She pulled her knife. Two red bolts blew through the camp, hitting the animal to the ground. Ronon ran in to the camp, firing into the darkness around them.

Toni released a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"You okay?" Ronon crouched beside her, looking worried.

She nodded. Closing her eyes as the pain began to rush back. "Good timing."

[ - [ - [ -

Ronon drug the last of the scavenger carcasses to the pile when he heard movement in the distance. "Sheppard?" he called.

"Yeah!" A moment later, the Colonel and Teyla came into view. "What happened?" he asked as soon as he saw the dead animals at Ronon's feet.

"I got this one. She got those."

Teyla bent to examine the beasts. "Truly?"

"Uh-huh." He looked at Sheppard chewing his lip. "They got here before I did, but she held them off." He left out the part where she ran out of bullets.

"Where is she?"

"Tent. She crawled in to sleep about fifteen minutes ago."

John looked around the small camp site. He could see the evidence of a struggle near the fire. Up in the tree hung the four packs of meat and he tried to picture Toni hauling them through the woods. He turned back to the dead scavengers. "She did that?"

"Yep."

Teyla watch his face tighten in frustration. She guessed he must be struggling with conflicting emotions concerning this aspect of Toni of which he had not known before. She knew he worried for her safety. "Colonel, are we not staying until the morning?"

"Yeah." John nodded. "That is, Ronon, if you don't think these things will come back."

"They probably won't, especially if they smell their own dead here." Ronon was silently counting the seconds, surprised Sheppard hadn't gone to Toni yet.

"Why don't I take the first watch?" Teyla offered. "Ronon, you can get some rest, and John, I'm sure Toni would appreciate seeing you."

John nodded, barely responding before turning to her tent. Unzipping and taking off his vest, he crawled into the tiny two person tent. Toni lay on her stomach with the open sleeping bag thrown over her clothed legs. He watched her breath in and out slowly. Lying close to her, but being careful not to wake her, he tried to see in the dim light. Her hair smelled like earth.

She moved. Her eyes fluttered open. "John."

"Shh, go back to sleep." He whispered, drawing her closer. She mumbled something, and curled against him. He lay there, trying to let go of the tension in his shoulders. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep.

[ - [ - [ -

A squeaked curse brought John full awake. He sat up, startled.

Toni was there, biting her lip, with her face pinched in pain. She was almost on all fours, but she held her right leg straight.

"Babe." John reached out taking her by the shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"I'm okay." She lowered herself back onto her left side. "I was trying to get up without waking you. Sorry."

"You're not okay." He frowned.

"John, I'm just stiff. Once I get up and move around a bit, I'll be fine."

"Why don't you just…"

"John." She placed her hand over his. "Please, just help me up."

His frown deepened.

"If you don't want to help, I'll do it myself." Toni glared back. She shuffled halfway out the tent opening.

"Wait. Dammit. Just wait." John crawled out of the tent. He turned around and took Toni's hands, pulling her up to stand in front of him. She held on to his forearm and stretched, biting back the groan.

"Morning." Ronon and Teyla sat on the other side of the fire.

"Hey."

"How you feeling?" Ronon stirred up the fire.

"Stiff." Toni conceded. "Let me move around a bit and I'll be good to pack up. Not to be a whiner, but I want to carry that one." She pointed at the smaller of the packs of meat.

"What makes you think you'll be carrying anything. I'm not even sure we're hauling that back." John waved a hand up at the packs hanging in the tree.

"What?" Toni turned back to face, although not all that gracefully. She bit back the pain in her leg, hip and back, doing her best to march over to him without limping. "That is the whole reason we came out here and I'll be damned if I'm going to leave any more behind. You just don't do that. We've already done enough damage." She motioned to the dead scavengers. "I won't waste even more."

"I can tell you're in pain." John barked back.

"So." She rolled her eyes. "I'm sore and stiff. I'll live. It doesn't mean I'm going to leave all this behind."

"You're not carrying that much." He ordered.

"You're not going to tell me what I can or can't do." Toni snapped back.

"Perhaps…" Teyla began, but Ronon put a hand on her leg, stopping her. He shook his head 'no'. The arguing couple didn't notice.

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do." John fought to keep his voice down. "I'm just not going to let you…"

"Don't. Just stop." Toni held up both her hands. "I decided to take this trip. I shot the elk. I carried half of it here. Me. Granted, I was stupid enough to fall. But I will carry my fair share out of here."

"I'm here. I can…"

"What? Help? Or carry it for me?" She interrupted. She stopped, nearly saying something rash. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "John, I finish what I start, hurt or not. I was raised to buck up. I'd have to be tied up or dying before I would just stand back and do nothing while everyone around me did all the work. Understand?"

He chewed his lip. Put that way, he did understand. John looked up at the four packs and around at the camp. "Okay, I can carry one…"

"As can I." Teyla interjected.

"If someone carries my gear, I can carry two." Ronon offered, hoping Toni would take the way out he offered.

Toni exchanged a knowing stare with the big Satedan. She finally agreed. "I'll carry the gear."

"Okay, fine. That's settled." John reluctantly agreed.

Later, they were nearly back to the jumper when John slowed down, watching Toni walk several paces in front of him. She favored the right side and he could see the effort it took for her to keep up with Teyla. "Stubborn, little…"

"Yep." Ronon spoke, surprising him. "She's definitely stubborn. She was worried you were going to freak out, though."

"Well, yeah." John kept his eyes on Toni. "It's obvious she's in pain."

"Not about that." His friend explained. "She's worried your going to get over-protective after this."

"Me?"

"We would have been fine if you hadn't come, you know." Ronon tried another tactic.

"Well, you were late coming back."

"And would you have come racing out if it were Teyla and I who were a few hours late coming back from the mainland?" Ronon jogged ahead, leaving Sheppard to his thoughts.

[ - [ - [ -

John rushed down to the infirmary. He talked Toni into going straight there only after promising to help Ronon get all the meat to the food stores. Unfortunately, Elizabeth caught him in the hall outside the jumper bay. She wanted to know what had happened, so he hurried to summarize as best as he could. He couldn't be more than twenty minutes behind Toni.

Jogging into the infirmary, he didn't see her anywhere. "Carson?"

"I thought you'd show up." Dr. Beckett smiled, trying to ease his friend's worry.

"Where is she?"

"There's not much more I can do for her here and the poor love was desperate for a shower. So I sent her on her way."

"Wha – well, how is she?" The Colonel folded his arms tightly across his chest.

"Got some right nasty bruises, but nothing's broken. I want to see her back if the cuts or scratches gets inflamed, but otherwise she just needs some rest and a few hot baths, I expect."

"She's really okay?"

Carson could see the concern on the other man's face. He could tell how much the Colonel cared for the girl. "Aye, she's in a fair amount of pain. I gave her something for it. And, it will take a while to heal up. The colors those bruises will turn should be spectacular." Seeing his joke was not taken well, he placed his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Colonel, she'll be fine. Just try to see she takes it easy."

John thanked him, but wondered how the hell he was going to convince her to do that. He left the infirmary and went straight to her quarters. There was no answer at the door, but he knew she was probably cleaning up. Using his override, John entered her room and immediately heard the water running.

"Toni?" Walking into the bathroom, he saw her through the glass wall of the shower. Water poured over her head as she rinsed out her long hair. The deep purple and red bruises stood out starkly against her pale skin. He swallowed hard. It reminded him of the injuries he got after crashing his dirt bike on a jump when he was a teenager. That had hurt pretty damn bad.

Without saying anything else, he stripped down and stepped around the glass. With gentle fingers, he swept her wet hair away from her face. Toni smile up at him, the exhaustion – and maybe a touch of the painkillers – making her eyes droop.

"Hey." John kissed her shoulder.

"Hey." She turned towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I thought you might want some help to wash your back."

"Sounds wonderful."

Soaping up the soft cloth, he washed her skin with careful, gentle strokes. John smiled to himself when she sighed and leaned heavier against him. Completely pliable, Toni let him lift her arms or turn her around as he tended to her. Rinsing her with the hot water, he let it run over her sore muscles. Front to front, she leaned into him as he directed the water over her back.

"That feels so good," she mumbled into his chest. "I'm sorry we fought."

"That wasn't a fight. Not much of one, anyway." He spoke quietly. "I just wanted to take care of you and you were being bullheaded."

Toni laughed sleepily. "I don't care what you say…you'll never convince me I'm bullheaded."

John smiled. "Okay, stubborn then."

"Oh that? Yeah, I can be that." She tipped her head up to look into his eyes. "John, I…"

He kissed her lightly to silence her. "Why don't you let me take care of you for tonight, and you can go back to being stubborn in the morning."

She kissed him back. "Thank you."

[ - [ - [ -

"What is going on?" John followed Elizabeth out on to the terrace next to the mess. The late day sun shone across the water, warming the light breeze. At one of the tables sat Ronon, Teyla and McKay.

"I just thought we would have our meeting out here." She smiled innocently, but he wasn't buying it.

"Are we gathering here for a particular reason?" Teyla asked when the Colonel and Dr. Weir approached.

"I told you, it's just a nice day." Rodney smiled far more than the situation warranted.

"Colonel?" Teyla turn to him.

He shrugged. "Beats me."

They sat down and everyone but Rodney looked expectantly at Elizabeth. She barely controlled her smile. After a moment she finally spoke. "I hear they're serving something special tonight."

"Huh?" Ronon asked just as the smell of grilled steak filled his nostrils.

Toni stepped up behind them with a large tray of dishes. Beckett was right behind her with one of his own. She placed a plate with a large steak featured on it in front of him. She placed a matching one in front of Sheppard. "Two rib steaks, medium rare." Then she placed another plate in front of Teyla, "and one fillet minion, medium."

"What's this?" John smiled. It looked fantastic.

"A thank you." Toni answered as she and Carson handed out the rest of the plates. She sat at his right, with a plate of her own. "I thought we should be the first to enjoy the spoils. It's really good. More like buffalo than venison."

"Oh, man." McKay moaned through half a mouth of food. "Yum."

"You prepared this wonderfully." Teyla agreed.

Toni leaned to look at Ronon, who was a third of the way through his steak. He winked, but didn't stop eating. Cooking good food for people she cared about gave her more happiness than anyone could know. She inherited the trait from her grandmother.

John watched her. Over the last several days they had playfully argued as he tried to make sure she took it easy. He enjoyed the challenge…and the rewards. He leaned close to her ear. "It's perfect. Thank you."

"No." Toni shook her head, letting him see how she felt in her eyes. While she healed, he worked so hard to make her comfortable, even when she fought him over it. For the first time that she could remember, a man in her life saw exactly how 'bullheaded' she could be…accepting her for what she was, all the aspects, sides and depths of her…and he still stayed. "Thank you."


End file.
